Tale of the princess and the pea
Story A prince wanted to marry only a "true princess". All suitors seemed not royal enough to him. One night, during a terrible storm, a young woman knocked at the castle door. She asked for a shelter and said she was a princess. But, being all wet, she did not looked like one. The queen had a idea to prove she was a true princess: she piled twenty mattresses and twenty eiderdowns. Under it, she put a pea. The princess then went to bed. The next morning, the princess was asked if she slept well. She said she didn't, because a quite hard object wounded her, leaving her body with many bruises. The queen was satisfied as only a true princess would have such a sensitive skin, and the prince married her. Variants -The princess background is quite mysterious, the story do not explain why she was alone and out of her kingdom, having apparently felt on hard times. -It is not even sure if she was a princess by birth, or if she deserved an honorary title for having a skin worth a princess. -Her story contain certains values dissonances, as being so sensitive for a woman is not very empowering. Plus, you can wonder how the princess is even alive while being that sensible (the rain shall have stabbed her to death). For today standards, this princess look like a demanding little fusspot for having 40 mattresses. -This short story is often expanded in adaptations, and the princess is often shown in a more sympathetic light, notably by portraying her loyal to her true nature, even if no one believe her. It's notably the case at the beginning of the movie ''Barbie: a fashion fairy tale, ''when Barbie is seen starring in an adaptation of the tale. -In a reading book, the story was expanded: the queen wanted to test others abilities in suitors. When they arrived, the queen classified the princesses in accordance to the prince 's wishes (he wanted to marry a plump, blue-eyed princess). Then, the queen tested their good taste after they got dressed for dinner. The remaining contestants were tested on their table manners during the meal. After that, four princesses remained. Invited to play music, two of them choose imprudently to play harmonica and accordion. But the two others, Priscilla and Griselda, played piano and flute. They were the two remaining contestants and go to beds which had twenty mattresses. The next morning, when asked, Priscilla answered she slept like a baby. Griselda felt the pea under the mattresses, so she was the one who married the prince. -The story is also expanded in the musical '' Once upon a mattress '', where the princess is named Winifred. There are several princesses tested in it too, and if Winifred felt something, it's because mattresses were filled with weapons, jousting equipment, and sharp items- and removed in the morning before the queen arrived. Gallery 1025.JPEG mattress_poster.gif|Once upon a mattress 2625946-princess_on_the_pea.jpg the_princess_and_the_pea1-300x300_medium.jpg Category:Tales Category:Princesshood